In a departure from his long-held practice of keeping his airplane projects secret while still in development, Burt Rutan used a public forum at EAA AirVenture on July 22 to reveal details of the SkiGull, an ultra-efficient, long-range seaplane capable of landing on asphalt, grass, snow, or water.

Joe Dory IV is an accomplished backcountry pilot, but he admitted he was a little nervous about the task at hand: competing in the short takeoff and landing (STOL) event at EAA AirVenture before thousands of pilots July 21.

What can make a former Navy corpsman and a Harley-Davidson engineer giggle with pure joy? Their first takeoff. Watch as three students hop in the left seat for the first time and experience the thrill of flight in these One Week Ready to Solo webisodes.